“You have your clothes right? How about bathroom utilities?” Linda pestered. “Pepper spray! Where is your pepper spray? In your bag isn’t that right? Money! Do you need money? I’ll give you money! How much do you want? 200-“ Linda began to rant over again just like she had been for the past week. Frank had to finally butt in to get her to stop.

“Mom, everything is fine. I have all the stuff that I need packed already I’ve been packed for days you know that. It’s only collage it’s not too far I’ll be fine.” He tried explaining to her once again.

Linda was devastated. Her only son, only child was leaving for collage, and in her eyes leaving her too. She never imagined this day would come, or that it would come so soon. It had seemed that just yesterday she was chasing her naked son around the front yard and screaming for him to get some clothes on. It didn’t matter that his collage was a measly two hours away from where they lived in Jersey either. To her, it felt as if he were moving half across the world. The feeling was almost unbearable.

And, it wasn’t that Frank didn’t feel bad about going to collage because really, he did. He didn’t want to leave just as much as she didn’t want him to. But, he graduated from high school about a year ago and really needed to get his life started. He needed more of an education than just a high school diploma could give him. So as a result, he picked the best collage that was in a four-hour radius so that he could go and visit his mother every chance he would get. He was a full-fledged mama’s boy.

“I know… but you’re my baby…” Linda blubbered out, her bottom lip jutting out slightly as tears began to fill in the crevices of her eyes, almost ready to spill.

Frank sighed miserably and walked up to his mother to hug her. He squeezed her tight and did not want to let go. This would be the last time he saw her for who knows how long. He was afraid to leave her. He had hardly even left the house before other than school and on the occasion of Jamia’s house. But he was now a grown man, at the age of nineteen, almost twenty. And even if neither one had wanted to believe it; this would be good for Frank. The collage experience had been delayed long enough for him and he wanted to venture out on his own. Become a true man. Now matter how immature of a man he would be.

“I know mom. And just because I’m going to collage it doesn’t mean that that’s going to change. I promise to call you every night and visit as much as I can. We will be okay, I mean I would need to move out sometime and this is the best way to do it. We’ll be okay.” Frank swore to his mother, while trying to also make himself believe that he would really be okay. He was nervous and he was beginning to become teary eyed himself.

Linda nodded her head unsurely and squeezed back. She believed her son, yet she still didn’t know if he really would be okay without her like he had said to her. She was worried. And she was a mother, so she had an excuse to be. She was probably a little bit too concerned, but under the circumstances, she supposed it was okay.

After a minute of just standing their in the living room, embracing for the longest time, Frank let go and very remorsefully at that. He gave his mother one last longing look as he grabbed the black duffle bag next to his feet and hoisted it up over his tattooed shoulder. He felt the tears threaten to fall, but quickly wiped them away before his mother would see and begin her ranting again. Oh god he was going to miss her.

“Well I guess it’s time for me to go.” Frank proclaimed as he gave one final last look at his heartbroken mother who now stood at the doorframe.

She said nothing, just nodded her head and looked down at her feet, which were still clad in her slippers from early morning. Frank looked down at his own feet, which he used to slightly kick the dry wall. He felt kind of saddened and depressed for what he was about to go through. He kicked one black chuck Taylor at the wall again, making a picture of his grandfather tilt a little to the left. But, even if he didn’t want to he knew he had to be on his way now if he wanted to make it there in time.

“I love you,” he said to Linda before going up on his Tiptoes to kiss his mother’s cheek gently, getting his lips wet with her tears in the process.

“I love you. Call as soon as you get settled okay? You know I will be worried sick until you call.” She explained to Frank as she bent down to plant a small kiss to his cheek, which were now probably as wet as his mothers. He nodded frantically and pulled her in for one last final hug.

“I will, don’t worry I will be fine. Tell dad that I love him and that I’ll talk to him soon.” He whispered in her ears, which were partly covered by her chocolate brown hair.

She nodded to him and let him go. With one final look, Frank was out the door and walking to his car. His mother watched him sadly as he put his bag in the passenger’s side before slipping into the drivers seat. And, with a fake smile, Frank drove out of the driveway, to commence his new life.

…

It felt like forever and a day has passed before Frank got to his collage. As he drove down the long drive, he passed so many people while he drove to try and find the parking lot. He passed the large sign that said ‘Welcome To Rutgers’ and a bunch of other, small things that he couldn’t read before he made it to the parking lot.

As Frank parked his car, he did nothing but stare at the large building that loomed before him. It had looked so imitating. Just like it was for a five- year old child at his first day of school. The building standing tall and proud, swallowing kid after kid as they entered. Frank snapped out of it and grabbed his bag, before jumping out of the car.

That was when it hit him like a ton of bricks. He was completely on his own now. His mother or father would not be there to make him his meals, do his laundry, clean up his room or pester him to do his homework assignments. They wouldn’t be there to wake him up in the morning with a fresh plate of breakfast at the table or be there to tell him to go to sleep at night. He had no idea what he was going to do now without them. He was screwed for sure. These next few years were going to suck. And Frank knew that.

Frank sighed and stopped dead in his tracks, looking around at all of the kids that were around him, all in groups talking and laughing and just having a good old time. Frank didn’t completely understand why these kids were all so cheerful, they wouldn’t have their parents for guidance or anything, and the only thing that was the good thing about this was that they wouldn’t have any rules. But Frank would definitely rather have the rules and stay at his home instead. He didn’t give a fuck about the rules.

He found a bench that was unoccupied by any students so he clutched his bag tighter and moved his way over t the bench to sit down. He sighed once more and put his head down in his hands, which were covered in his black fingerless skeleton gloves. He was so going to miss his mom. He already began to miss her and he had only been gone for a measly two and a half hours. Yes, he was definitely a mama’s boy

Frank let himself mourn for a moment or two, to just feel sorry for him self for the time being. After about five minutes of just sitting on the bench crying and watching the students walk by and look at him like something was wrong with him, Frank finally sucked it up and walked his way up to the college doors.

He walked up to the large imitating and taunting building and with a sigh, walked right into the double doors that separated him from being a pansy, and a brand new student at Rutgers University. As he walked into the building, it was completely different than what he would have suspected it to look like. The number of people there was actually a little overwhelming. Boys and girls alike cluttered the halls of the building. Some talked excitedly while others just sat there and starred at the floor. With everything going on, the whole place was just a zoo.

Frank was never one to join a conversation. He was never one to make them either. He didn’t necessarily love talking to people. Especially horny, sex driven young adults like these. Back at home he had only a selected group of friends that he would talk to. Yet that was all he needed. Having a large group of friends, fake friends would just mean a shit ton of drama. So it was nice to have a group of friends that could actually handle his sometimes, almost all of the time immaturity. So for the time being, he decided to get settled in first, worry about school instead of trying to make friends that he probably would not keep after his whole college experience was over.

Just as he was about to go and find his dorm so he could get settled in and unpack so he could call his mother and get her to stop worrying about him, a woman walked up to him. She was taller than him, but not by that much. That was not saying much for how tall Frank was, standing at a small 4’9. She had long black hair that was put up in pigtails. Which normally, would not look right on a grown woman. He skin was pale and almost completely blemish free. Her eyes were sort of a darker color, which were rimmed with smoky, black eyeliner. She smiled at Frank, making her teeth show. Her teeth were white, and had looked even whiter against the dark shade of red lipstick that she was wearing. She had a short plaid skirt with a black over shirt that was completed with a pure white tie. She was pretty, Frank had concluded.

“Hey, I’m Lyn-z. This your first year? I haven’t seen you around before.” Lyn-z greeted him kindly, as she stuck her hand out to have Frank shake. Her bracelets jingling as her arm moved.

Frank was always a little skeptic when he first met new people. He was cautious, because he didn’t want to get into the wrong group of people when he first started going to new places. This girl Lyn-z could be a total bitch and he wouldn’t even know it. But, she seemed nice enough. So he stuck his hand out to shake it with hers. She shook his hand and let it go just to drop to her side.

“Yeah, I’m new here, First year of college. I’m Frank by the way.” Frank had said to Lyn-z, his words jumbled together to the point he was just running his sentences. She just let it slide though. She was just as nervous her first day of college, but more than likely less.

Lyn-z raised her eyebrows and puckered her lips out, like she had wanted a kiss. But Frank decided she just must have been thinking about something. She starred out blankly, like she was transfixed on whatever it is that she is looking at. And if it were a kiss she really wanted, then she would not get it. But then she started to giggle and Frank just let all of his thoughts subdue. At first, Frank thought she may have been a bit crazy.

“Sorry. I kind of dozed off their for a second,” Lyn-z smiled toothily. “But hey, if you need anything like help finding your classes or anything at all, just look for me.” Lyn-z explained to him kindly before grabbing the pink bag next to her, which Frank just now realized was there.

He thanked her and she nodded with a smile before walking away, probably to where the dorms were located. Once she was gone, Frank was once again left to his lonesome. Technically, there were tons of people around so he really wasn’t alone; he just did not want to acknowledge them.

Tired, and just ready to go home, Frank picked up his bag to go find out exactly where his dorm was and whom he would be sharing it with. So with that, he walked over to where he had just seen Lyn-z go. He grabbed out his paper from his pocket and unfolded it. The room number read 131.

Frank made his way down the hall in search for his dorm room. And then he finally found it. After about ten minutes of search. He stood outside the door for a minute, just to think. He couldn’t help but think that he was being extremely stupid right about now. He was afraid to walk in and meet his roommate. The guy that he would be living with for the next few years. He was afraid that this guy was going to be a complete asshole. Or maybe something horrible. Like a guy that went to bed early and studied 97.3% of the time. Someone who needed everything clean and spotless. Now, Frank realized that that would be the worst-case scenario.

But he held back his fears, and with a deep breath, pushed open the door. The first thing that caught his eye was how spacious it was. At first he thought it was going to be extremely small and hard to get around in. but to his immense surprise, the dorm was quite large.

There were two desks, both at different sides of the room. There were also two twin-sized beds, but he didn’t necessarily care about that. He has had a twin-sized bed at home for as long as he could remember. The walls though, those needed some work. They were a white color with this kind of yellowish tint to them, which meant that they would have had to been around for a while. The floors were also a down part of the whole thing, which were cream in color, and even had a few stains on them. But in the least the curtains were black. It would keep all of the unnecessary light out. So, Frank thought, at least that was a plus.

Frank was all to busy looking around at his dorm room that he didn’t notice it when the room’s door opened. But he did notice it however when the person slammed what sounded like twenty bags on the ground. Startled, Frank jumped up off the ground and spun around, in enough time to catch the man shutting the door behind him with his foot, for he was carrying for bags on himself. Another three bags littered the ground. Frank starred doubtfully at his own bag; his only bag and could not help but feel under packed.